As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) signed into law by the President on July 4th, Congress made approximately $150 billion in appropriations to support defense and national security priorities. As detailed further below, OBBBA touches on many different defense industries and sectors—including the maritime industry, missile systems, space and satellite technologies,
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SPEEDing up Procurement?: House Armed Services Bill Seeks to Reform Defense Acquisition
The Trump Administration continues to focus on procurement reform aimed at increasing acquisition efficiency, including through the “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” and reinforced preference for commercial products. Now, with the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) introducing a defense procurement reform bill, it is clear that HASC leadership is also targeting increased efficiency as
A Tale of Two Impaired Objectivity Investigations: Key Takeaways for Contractors Navigating Potential Organizational Conflicts of Interest
A pair of recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protest decisions addressing impaired objectivity organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs) highlight the fact-specific and highly discretionary nature of a contracting officer’s OCI investigation, as well as the important role that contractors themselves can play in supporting such an investigation. We discuss these two protests and the
Continued Signs of Progress in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul
Since President Trump issued Executive Order (“E.O.”) 14275, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement” on April 15, 2025 as part of an effort to remake Federal procurement, the Administration has undertaken a variety of initial steps to implement its so-called “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul” (“RFO”). These steps include “streamlining” each Part of
May 2025 Cybersecurity Developments Under the Trump Administration
This is the fourth blog in a series of Covington blogs on cybersecurity policies, executive orders (“EOs”), and other actions of the new Trump Administration. This blog describes key cybersecurity developments that took place in May 2025.
CISA Releases AI Data Security Guidance
On May 22, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”), which sits
CISA Releases AI Data Security Guidance
On May 22, 2025, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”), which sits within the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) released guidance for AI system operators regarding managing data security risks. The associated press release explains that the guidance provides “best practices for system operators to mitigate cyber risks through the artificial intelligence lifecycle, including
Digital Force Technologies, Inc.: A “SBIR-Derived Component” Can Be Sufficient For SBIR Phase III
In a recent bid protest decision— Digital Force Technologies, Inc., B-423319 (May 19, 2025), the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) denied a protest of a Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) program Phase III sole source solicitation issued by the Air Force, concluding that the Air Force had properly procured work from a successor-in-interest entity that
GAO: DCAA Built a Valuable Bench of Independent Public Accountants, Now What?
The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released a report on the Defense Contract Audit Agency’s (“DCAA”) past and future use of private-sector, independent public accountants to augment its auditor workforce. The initiative—approved under Section 803 of the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”)—began in fiscal year 2020 and was originally envisioned by Congress
April 2025 Cybersecurity Developments Under the Trump Administration
This is the third blog in a series of Covington blogs on cybersecurity policies, executive orders (“EOs”), and other actions of the new Trump Administration. This blog describes key cybersecurity developments that took place in April 2025.
NIST Publishes Initial Draft of Guidance for High Performance Computing Systems
U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology
Justice Department Establishes Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, Using False Claims Act to Target DEI
On May 19, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memorandum establishing a DOJ Civil Rights Fraud Initiative. The Initiative will use the False Claims Act (“FCA”) to “investigate and . . . pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws.” Educational institutions, federal contractors, grantees, and